Short-distance Trips Research Articles

Mediation Effects of Income on Travel Mode Choice: Analysis of Short-Distance Trips Based on Path Analysis with Multiple Discrete Outcomes

Effects of income on travel behavior have been widely examined in the literature; however, a majority of existing studies focused mainly on the direct effects of income and neglected the indirect effects. This focus is especially true in the context of developing countries in which income per capita is increasing rapidly. Effects of income on travel behavior may be observed through its impacts on other life choices. Such indirect effects are called “mediation effects” in this study. To fill the foregoing research gap, this study focused on travel mode choice in the Hanoi metropolitan area of Vietnam and developed a path model with multiple discrete choices. In the path model, mediation effects of income on travel mode choice were captured by modeling residential location choice as a discrete mediator that generated nonlinear indirect effects of income on mode choice (the proposed model is called the “mediation model”). As a comparison, a joint model of residential location and travel mode choices was built with only direct effects of income on both types of choice. Based on data collected at three new urban areas in Hanoi in 2015, model estimation results confirm the existence of both direct effects and mediation effects of income on mode choice. Simulation analyses further show that as income increases, the share of motorcycles sharply decreases up to a certain level of income; however, it rises after that level.

Development and implementation of walkability audits in Greek medium-sized cities: the case of the Serres’ city centre

Abstract The conventional approach in transport planning aims at the expansion of road transport infrastructure to cope with the increasing transport demand. However, this car-based planning approach not only fails to fulfill the mobility needs due to the limited space available for new road infrastructure leading thus to the vicious circle of traffic congestion, but also contributes to the exacerbation of phenomena such as air pollution, climate change, traffic noise and the degradation of the urban environment. In order to reduce these impacts, contemporary transport planning suggests the paradigm shift from private car to more sustainable transport modes such as walking. Experts consider walking as one of the fastest and most time-reliable transport modes for short-distance trips, especially within central areas. Despite the indisputable advantages of walking, people are often discouraged due to the poor condition of the provided infrastructure for pedestrians and of the surrounding environment. Hence, a major precondition in the contemporary planning comprises the systematic assessment of the walking environment and the comprehensive evaluation of pedestrian infrastructure. Towards this direction the objective of the present paper is the discussion of the contribution of walkability audits as a tool for the monitoring, evaluation and improvement of the walking conditions in an urban area. The paper includes the analysis of the methodology and the results from a walkability audit survey which was conducted in the framework of the city’s recent Urban Mobility Study along the footpaths of the city centre of Serres, Greece and indicates the appropriate interventions for the improvement of walking conditions in the study area.

A Study on Traffic Forecast for Metro Railway Expansion in Chennai

Infrastructure, specifically Transportation forms the backbone for the continuous development of any country and its economy. The cities around the world are facing critical problems due to improper planning and non implementation of modern transportation techniques. Metro being Low Carbon Transport, it is considered as an Eco Sustainable solution to reduce pollution in the city. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the requirement of implementation of metro rail system in an important corridor (Porur to Kamarajar Salai) in Chennai city (India). Methods/Statistical Analysis: In the present work Chennai city is divided into various zones for easy identification and demarcation. The population growth and the vehicle growth along the corridor for the base year 2015 are projected for the future. The survey of passengers in the corridor is done online using Google forms under various headings like trip purpose, trip time, trip cost, trip mode etc. Findings: The results provide the summary details of the existing scenario of the transportation density and its viability for future expansion in this sector. The passengers expect the metro rail travel cost to be around the expenses incurred per kilometre travel in their present mode of transport. Rs.30/- per metro trip is levied in the Corridor- I by Metro is almost closer to the expenses incurred by the commuters in Porur-KamarajarSalai Corridor, making the patronage favourable towards metro. The results of travel characteristics especially the trip purpose and trip distance give a cutting edge in the Sustainability of metro rail in the longer run. The short distance trip by daily trip users will bring more revenues for metro with regards to the infrastructure investment and running cost. The survey shows that the sure patronage of commuters is 84% i.e., are willing to switch over to Metro Rail for commuting, once the services are available. The travel comfort and reduction in travel time are the main considerations in preferring metro rail. It is seen from the analysis that this corridor requires immediate attention for the implementation of the metro rail system before it becomes too late. Application/Improvement: This method is a quick application for finding out the feasibility study on any corridor taking into consideration the details pertaining to the particular corridor and its surroundings. This study involves only the important characteristics that play a cardinal significance on the outcome. Hence it is closer to reality in identifying the information quickly.

Shifting from Metro to Sustainable Surface Modes for Short-Distance Travel

Many cities with metro systems are experiencing overcapacity problems on some or many lines. Beijing is one such city whose metro also services a high proportion of short-distance trips. The proportion of short-distance travel—less than 5 km (3.1 mi)—carried out on foot or on bicycle varies greatly across cities, depending on alternative travel modes and local environmental conditions. In this study, users of a multimodal transportation corridor that included metro ( n = 400) were interviewed about their travel mode preferences depending on distance within the short-distance travel category. Users were also asked to state their preferences for mode, depending on distance and a progressive rise in metro ticket fare. Finally, users were asked to state their mode preferences for trips that extended to five metro stations if a public bicycle system with a separate lane were made available. Modal choice was highly sensitive to variable short-distance trips. A progressive shift to bus use occurred as the metro fare price increased, with little change in the walking rate or in the use of motorized modes. When the original low metro fare price was maintained, the availability of a public bicycle system led to a sevenfold increase in bicycle use, with significant drops in bus share, and to a lesser extent, metro share. Responses to the stated preference survey indicated that fares and a public bicycle program might be effective to manage the use of metro for short-distance trips.

Effects of Perceived Neighborhood Walkability on Mode Choice of Short-Distance Trips in Hanoi city

By using subjective evaluation of neighborhood walkability collected in Hanoi in 2011, this study empirically investigates how walkability is different across different types of neighborhoods and how it influences mode choices of short-distance trips. Surprisingly, the results of walkability comparison indicate that new-urban neighborhoods are less walkable than downtown and mixed neighborhoods. Specifically, downtown neighborhoods have strengths in terms of aesthetics and walking facilities, while the positive aspects of mixed neighborhoods are accessibility by foot, trees and street connectivity. Further, the results of multinomial logit model indicate that perceived neighborhood walkability has a significant influence on mode choices of short-distance trips: (1) accessibility by foot and walking facilities have positive influences on walking choice in mixed and downtown neighborhoods, and (2) the fear of crime is positively associated with the use of motorcycles in all three neighborhood types. These findings are important to improve neighborhood planning in Hanoi.

Behavior of two-wheelers at limited priority uncontrolled T-intersections

Being convenient and affordable, motorized two-wheeler is the most widely used personal mode for short and medium distance trips in India, thereby resulting in a very high concentration of two-wheelers on Indian roads. Its compact size and aggressive nature of two-wheeler riders have significant impact on the overall traffic characteristics and safety. A large number of unsignalized intersections in India do not have stop or yield sign, and even if it exists, drivers in general do not follow the intended priorities. The combinations of these factors create complex conditions at unsignalized intersections. At some intersections, where the drivers clearly perceive major and minor roads, priority rules are followed to a certain extent. Such partially controlled intersections where limited priorities are observed are studied here. The focus of this paper is on analyzing and modeling gap acceptance behavior of two-wheelers at limited priority unsignalized T-intersections in India. The data collected at four intersections revealed that accepted gaps/lags follow lognormal distribution. Logit models are developed for major and minor road right turnings which show that the probability of accepting a gap is higher if the driver is young, the conflicting vehicle is a two-wheeler, or both. Critical gap values are estimated using Raff's method, lag method, Ashworth's method, logit method, and maximum likelihood method. These values vary from 2.38 to 3.06s for major road right turning and 2.77 to 3.71s for minor road right turning. The maximum likelihood method is found to give the most consistent values. The findings of this study are useful in developing performance and safety evaluation of uncontrolled intersections in India.

Characterization of Black Spot Zones for Vulnerable Road Users in São Paulo (Brazil) and Rome (Italy)

Non-motorized transportation modes, especially cycling and walking, offer numerous benefits, including improvements in the livability of cities, healthy physical activity, efficient urban transportation systems, less traffic congestion, less noise pollution, clean air, less impact on climate change and decreases in the incidence of diseases related to vehicular emissions. Considering the substantial number of short-distance trips, the time consumed in traffic jams, the higher costs for parking vehicles and restrictions in central business districts, many commuters have found that non-motorized modes of transportation serve as viable and economical transport alternatives. Thus, local governments should encourage and stimulate non-motorized modes of transportation. In return, governments must provide safe conditions for these forms of transportation, and motorized vehicle users must respect and coexist with pedestrians and cyclists, which are the most vulnerable users of the transportation system. Although current trends in sustainable transport aim to encourage and stimulate non-motorized modes of transportation that are socially more efficient than motorized transportation, few to no safety policies have been implemented regarding vulnerable road users (VRU), mainly in large urban centers. Due to the spatial nature of the data used in transport-related studies, geospatial technologies provide a powerful analytical method for studying VRU safety frameworks through the use of spatial analysis. In this article, spatial analysis is used to determine the locations of regions that are characterized by a concentration of traffic accidents (black zones) involving VRU (injuries and casualties) in São Paulo, Brazil (developing country), and Rome, Italy (developed country). The black zones are investigated to obtain spatial patterns that can cause multiple accidents. A method based on kernel density estimation (KDE) is used to compare the two cities and show economic, social, cultural, demographic and geographic differences and/or similarities and how these factors are linked to the locations of VRU traffic accidents. Multivariate regression analyses (ordinary least squares (OLS) models and spatial regression models) are performed to investigate spatial correlations, to understand the dynamics of VRU road accidents in São Paulo and Rome and to detect factors (variables) that contribute to the occurrences of these events, such as the presence of trip generator hubs (TGH), the number of generated urban trips and demographic data. The adopted methodology presents satisfactory results for identifying and delimiting black spots and establishing a link between VRU traffic accident rates and TGH (hospitals, universities and retail shopping centers) and demographic and transport-related data.

Revealing travel patterns and city structure with taxi trip data

Delineating travel patterns and city structure has long been a core research topic in transport geography. Different from the physical structure, the city structure beneath the complex travel-flow system shows the inherent connection patterns within the city. On the basis of taxi-trip data from Shanghai, we built spatially embedded networks to model intra-city spatial interactions and to introduce network science methods into the analysis. The community detection method is applied to reveal sub-regional structures, and several network measures are used to examine the properties of sub-regions. Considering the differences between long- and short-distance trips, we reveal a two-level hierarchical polycentric city structure in Shanghai. Further explorations of sub-network structures demonstrate that urban sub-regions have broader internal spatial interactions, while suburban centers are more influential on local traffic. By incorporating the land use of centers from a travel-pattern perspective, we investigate sub-region formation and the interaction patterns of center–local places. This study provides insights into using emerging data sources to reveal travel patterns and city structures, which could potentially aid in developing and applying urban transportation policies. The sub-regional structures revealed in this study are more easily interpreted for transportation-related issues than for other structures, such as administrative divisions.

Identification of Prior Factors Influencing the Mode Choice of Short Distance Travel

Short distance trips are defined as any trips shorter than or equal to 5 kilometers, which have been found to be a big contributor to the traffic congestion problem. This paper is intended to analyze factors that influence the mode choice of short distance travels in order to help reduce short distance trips by cars. A survey is conducted at two typical kinds of residential areas, one with a high proportion of short distance car trips and another one with a low proportion. Then, by applying the structural equation modeling, it is found that the age, the household income, and the vehicle ownerships have a significant effect on the mode choice of short distance travels. Besides, among residents of the same type (same age, household income, and vehicle ownerships) in surveyed areas, those in the area with a better green-mode travel environment account for a higher proportion choosing the green mode than those in other areas. Based on this result, it is concluded that a better green-mode travel environment leads to a higher proportion of green-mode travels. In the end, the paper shows residents’ stated willingness to change travel modes from cars to the green mode.

Perceived health status associated with transport choice for short distance trips.

BackgroundThis study examines the association between active transport and perceived general health, perceived psychological wellbeing and a healthy body weight in the Netherlands.MethodsData were collected by an online questionnaire (N = 3663) in the Netherlands. Data collection was conducted over a period of one calendar year starting July 2012. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the association between choice of transport mode (bicycling vs car use and walking vs car use) and perceived general health, perceived psychological wellbeing and having a healthy weight respectively. The presented OR's may be interpreted as the likelihood of an average person in our dataset to have a better perceived health or body weight when choosing active transport (either bicycling or walking) over using the car for trips up to 7.5 km.ResultsCycling was found to be significantly associated with a better perceived general health (OR = 1.35, 95%CI:1.07–1.70) and having a healthy body weight (OR = 1.52, 95%CI:1.28–1.79), but not with a better perceived psychological wellbeing (OR = 1.12, 95%CI:0.93–1.34). Walking was found to be significantly associated with having a healthy body weight (OR = 1.35, 95%CI:1.09–1.69), but not with a better perceived general (OR = 1.12, 95%CI:0.84–1.51) or psychological wellbeing (OR = 0.85, 95%CI:0.67–1.08).ConclusionOur results suggest that active transport use has been associated with a better perceived general health and a healthy body weight. However, more research is needed to be able to elucidate which factors cause this better health. No associations were observed between transport choice and perceived psychological wellbeing.

How combined trip purposes are associated with transport choice for short distance trips. Results from a cross-sectional study in the Netherlands.

BackgroundOne way to increase physical activity is to stimulate a shift from car use to walking or cycling. In single-purpose trips, purpose was found to be an important predictor of transport choice. However, as far as known, no studies have been conducted to see how trips with combined purposes affect this decision. This study was designed to provide insight into associations between combined purposes and transport choice.MethodsAn online questionnaire (N = 3,663) was used to collect data concerning transport choice for four primary purposes: shopping, going to public natural spaces, sports, and commuting. Per combination of primary trip purpose and transport choice, participants were asked to give examples of secondary purposes that they combine with the primary purpose. Logistic regression analyses were used to model the odds of both cycling and walking versus car use.ResultsPrimary trip purposes combined with commuting, shopping, visiting private contacts or medical care were more likely to be made by car than by cycling or walking. Combinations with visiting catering facilities, trips to social infrastructure facilities, recreational outings, trips to facilities for the provision of daily requirements or private contacts during the trip were more likely to be made by walking and/or cycling than by car.ConclusionCombined trip purposes were found to be associated with transport choice. When stimulating active transport focus should be on the combined-trip purposes which were more likely to be made by car, namely trips combined with commuting, other shopping, visiting private contacts or medical care.

Technology adoption of electric bicycles: A survey among early adopters

Electric bicycles (e-bikes) may reduce energy use, air pollution and noise for private transportation through a modal shift from fossil-fuel powered vehicles to e-bikes on short distance trips. However, designing effective promotion campaigns for the adoption of e-bikes requires detailed knowledge on user characteristics and motivations. In order to explain e-bike use on work, shopping and leisure trips, the present study combines concepts from technology adoption with factors derived from research on mobility behaviour. The study employs structural equation modeling to survey data from 1398 Austrian early adopters who purchased an e-bike between 2009 and 2011.Results show that early adopters are predominantly comprised of persons aged 60years or older who mainly use the e-bike for leisure trips. Carbon-intensive travel modes on commuting trips are barely substituted. Early adopters typically hold pro-environmental and technophile attitudes. E-bike use is most driven by perceived usefulness, which in turn depends on an easy use, appropriate infrastructure, also user’s norms and attitudes towards environment and physical activity. Comparison by trip purpose shows that a supportive social environment and personal ecological norms influence e-bike use on work and shopping trips, whereas leisure use of e-bikes is driven by attitudes towards physical activity. Comparison by age groups underlines that older e-bike users are more dependent on practical usefulness of the technology and facilitating road infrastructure. Therefore, e-bike promotion strategies should differentiate between trip purpose and age segments when selecting target groups.

Can We Reduce the Access by Motorcycles to Mass Transit Systems in Future Hanoi?

Whether or not the number of short-distance trips by motorcycles can be reduced still remains as an ill-answered question, especially in motorcycle dependent cities. Introducing mass transit systems in such cities may reduce long-distance trips by motorcycles on one hand, but may create short access trips by motorcycles on the other. Therefore, this paper aims to clarify the possibility of reducing the use of motorcycles for access trips. Based on subjective expectation data collected in Hanoi in 2009, we found significant disparity in the modal shares of future access modes to/from different stations between motorcycle and non- motorcycle users, suggesting potential influences of state dependence and spatial differences on why people ride motorcycles. For the purpose of this study, we apply a multi-level modeling approach. Estimation results revealed the causal link between current main travel mode and future access mode choices. Current walkers and cyclists tend to choose walking and bicycle modes as future access modes, but they are less likely to choose motorcycles. If current bus users mostly walk from their homes to bus stops, they do not tend to ride motorcycles to access to/from urban railway stations in future. Additionally, people may dislike riding motorcycles from their homes to stations if they request the improvement of sidewalk and pedestrian facilities for better accessibility. Inversely, those selecting measures to improve parking facilities prefer motorcycles than other access modes. Moreover, it is empirically confirmed the significant influences of spatial variations and inter-household variations on choices of future access modes. The findings of this study suggest the importance of incorporating state dependence, spatial variations and inter-household variations in future studies of access mode choice behavior.

Energy Consumption and Emission of Pollutants from Electric Bicycles

Electric bicycles (EBs) are now becoming the main vehicles for short-distance trips because of their speediness, flexibility and convenience in many cities in China. However, these benefits come at a cost. This study analyzed the energy consumption and emission of pollutants at every stage of the EB life cycle (production, use, maintenance and recycling) by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The environmental impacts and the energy consumption in production and use were quantified and compared with other competing modes of transport, such as bicycles, buses, motorcycles and cars. The results show that the energy consumption and emissions of pollutants by EBs occur mainly in the use stage, and specifically in the process of electricity production and battery change. The emissions of pollutants by EBs per person per kilometer are several times smaller than the values for motorcycles and cars, more or less equivalent to buses and higher than bicycles.

Measuring the Acceptability of Self-Balancing Two-Wheeled Personal Mobility Vehicles

Many studies on the development, on-road compatibility, and market potential of personal mobility vehicles have been conducted in recent years. This study focuses on the social acceptability of personal mobility vehicles by the general public, which is a key factor in the future introduction and implementation of these vehicles. Using survey data collected from 124 respondents from the city of Toyota, this study empirically explores the attitudes of the general public toward self-balancing two-wheeled vehicles and differences in the public’s acceptance of such vehicles before and after using them. Potential uses of these vehicles include tourism and excursions, short-distance trips in downtown areas, and traversing within buildings. Causal relationships between the acceptability of self-balancing two-wheeled vehicles and attitudes toward various characteristics of these vehicles are also analyzed in this study. The empirical results indicate that attitudes toward self-balancing two-wheeled vehicles increase after using the vehicles. The causal relationships between the acceptability of and attitudes toward self-balancing two-wheeled vehicles are identified using structural equation modeling.

Personal and environmental characteristics associated with choice of active transport modes versus car use for different trip purposes of trips up to 7.5 kilometers in The Netherlands.

IntroductionThis explorative study examines personal and neighbourhood characteristics associated with short-distance trips made by car, bicycle or walking in order to identify target groups for future interventions.MethodsData were derived from ‘Mobility Research Netherlands (2004–2009; MON)’, a dataset including information regarding trips made by household members (n = ±53,000 respondents annually). Using postal codes of household addresses, MON data were enriched with data on neighbourhood typologies. Multilevel logistic modelling was used to calculate odds ratio (OR) of active transport versus car use associated with four different trip purposes (shopping (reference), commuting, taking or bringing persons or sports). A total of 277,292 short distance trips made by 102,885 persons were included in analyses.ResultsCompared to women shopping, women less often take active transport to sports clubs (OR = 0.88) and men less often take active transport for shopping (OR = 0.92), or for bringing or taking persons (OR = 0.76). Those aged 25–34 years (OR = 0.83) and 35–44 years (OR = 0.96) were more likely to use active transport for taking or bringing persons than persons belonging to the other age groups (relative to trips made for shopping by those 65 years or over). A higher use of active transport modes by persons with an university or college degree was found and particularly persons living in urban-centre neighbourhoods were likely to use active transport modes.ConclusionIn developing policies promoting a mode shift special attention should be given to the following groups: a) men making short distance trips for taking or bringing persons, b) women making short distance trips to sport facilities, c) persons belonging to the age groups of 25–44 years of age, d) Persons with a primary school or lower general secondary education degree and persons with a high school or secondary school degree and e) persons living in rural or urban-green neighbourhoods.

The Effects of Age Stereotypes on Tour Leader Roles

This study explores whether various distance trips and age stereotypes affect tourists’ perceptions of tour leaders’ roles. This research also identifies the moderating effects regarding tour leader age stereotype, age in-group bias, and the respondents’ age on the perceived roles played by tour leaders. A total of 447 subjects participated in the study with a 2 (role-play scenarios: short-distance trip vs. long-distance trip) × 2 (appearances of the tour leader: middle-aged vs. young) between-subjects factorial design. The results showed that the respondents’ perceived roles of a middle-aged appearance tour leader were better than some young appearance counterparts’ components under short- and long-distance conditions. Furthermore, the tour leader age stereotype and age in-group bias could influence respondents’ perceptions of care and interactional and communicative dimensions. In addition, respondents’ age could affect the perceptions of some components of the tour leaders under short- and long-distance conditions.

Encouraging the use of Non-motorized in Bangkok

This paper aims to study the important factors affecting the decision on bicycle usage in the short-distance trips. Questionnaire surveys of weight of various factors were carried out in the shared-use paths in seven communities in Bangkok. The related factors obtained from questionnaire surveys were grouped by using the Factor Analysis Method. Moreover Logistic Regression Analysis is used to develop the model to forecast the bicycle usage. The results show that there are three factors which influence the usage of bicycle: 1) traveling behavior factors which included travel cost, travel time, travel distance and monthly income; 2) the cycling promotion plans which included providing the privilege for cyclists, constructing the exclusive bikeway networks around Bangkok, preparing the related facilities for cyclists such as bathrooms and storage lockers, promote the use of cycling instead of using a private car.; and 3) legislation related to the bicycle usage influenced the decision of bicycle usage.

Is the use of informal public transport modes in developing countries habitual? An empirical study in Davao City, Philippines

The presence of unique kinds of public transportation often described as informal characterizes many cities in developing countries. As often noted, people in the lower income categories are usually the ones who rely on informal public transport services. In the Philippines, one can observed that an average Filipino uses door-to-door transport services regularly. This starts from stepping out of the house, walking several paces (if at all), hailing a “pedicab” (bicycle with a side-cab) or tricycle (motorcycle with side-cab), to riding a public utility jeepney (PUJs) or bus, getting-off, hopping on to another “pedicab or “tricycle”, and getting transported right to the door of final destination. Using Davao City, Philippines as the case study area, the paper tries to explore the concept of habit and dependency on the different road-based public transport modes based on both theories of rational behavior and planned behavior. Empirical results using structural analysis show the strong public transport dependency to PUJs and tricycles where half of the household population have vehicles. It confirms the role of rational behavior where socio-economic factors affect modal decision. Likewise, the study also shows interesting findings wherein the quality of service evaluation played a direct role in the perceived dependency to formal modes (buses, taxis) and informal mode (such as motorcycle taxis or MC taxis) but an indirect role in the actual use of the mode. The study shows the relationship of perceived reliance vis-à-vis trip recall using indigenous modes (PUJs, tricycles) and supports the theory that suggests the role of habits and “mere exposure” effect. As noted in many related studies, it is not easy to alter habits. This indicator is validated by the actual use of public transport modes especially tricycles and MC taxis for short-distance trips as well as how one views own dependency vis-à-vis how the same individual sees his/her household and community dependency to a certain public transport mode. These findings suggest the need to understand Filipino commuter's psychology and a careful review and understanding of the concept of sustainability, infrastructure needs, seamless multi-modal connections and over-all quality of service given limited economic support in a context of an emerging city in a developing country.

Evaluation of urban accessibility indicators based on internal and external environmental costs

This paper estimates urban accessibility considering types of transport and destinations, taking into account the internal travel time costs, and the ensuing external environmental impacts. Based on online and local surveys, an accessibility function is developed to allow for the construction of an accessibility curve for each transport mode that decreases with distance to represent decaying accessibility. An external environmental impact is associated with the accessibility indicators, taking into account the influence of the cold-start emissions that are particularly relevant for short-distance trips. The methodology is applied to neighborhoods in Lisbon, Portugal, with significant differences in their urban planning, mobility patterns, concentration of services and availability of public transportation.